Prime Minister Mark Carney has started the process to fill the Supreme Court of Canada vacancy that will open up when Justice Sheilah Martin retires on May 30. The Montreal-born Martin trained in civil and common law before moving to Alberta to pursue work as an educator, lawyer and judge. She was named to the Supreme Court in 2017, and...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday he still planned to attend a Liberal Party fundraiser co-hosted by a Liberal MP who cast doubt on reports of China’s human-rights abuses against Uyghurs. Mr. Carney also defended Canada’s efforts to block imports of goods made with forced labour as this country prepares to allow Chinese-made electric vehicles back into the market. The...
Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Canada's approach to forced labour as one of his newest MPs continues to face backlash for appearing to cast doubt on the practice in China. Carney's response to Michael Ma's performance at committee last week comes during a sensitive moment in both Canada's attempts to reset ties with Beijing and the ongoing trade war with...
P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz says the RCMP have been alerted about a former cabinet minister's possible conflict of interest involving a permitting issue for a Summerside golf course. On Saturday, Lantz removed Gilles Arsenault as economic development minister, saying the minister had shown poor judgment when he was environment minister. The next day Lantz suspended Arsenault from the Progressive Conservative...
Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet is due for an overhaul, say several Liberal MPs, cabinet staffers, and political insiders, and a potential shift to a majority government would significantly change the political dynamics and would likely be reflected in cabinet. As the Liberals surge to a comfortable double-digit lead in public opinion polls and edge closer to majority territory with...
The latest polling from Liaison Strategies shows Mark Carney’s Liberal Party posting a 12-percentage-point lead over the Conservatives among decided and leaning voters, down from a 14-percentage-point lead from last week. The survey finds the Liberals with 45% support, followed by the Conservatives at 33% and the NDP at 9%. Liaison surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Canadians from March...
The American and Israeli war against Iran is 29 days old, and is costing America somewhere between a billion and 2 billion dollars a day. Far from getting a “rally around the flag” public opinion boost, Americans were skeptical from the start, and opinion has been hardening, especially against the idea of putting American troops on the ground. Even most...
Some Liberals, Conservatives and even New Democrats may be tempted to believe that the new NDP leader, Avi Lewis, is too far out there on the left to be a serious electoral threat. That underestimation may be a mistake. I’ve heard some serious people say over the course of the NDP leadership that a Lewis victory would spell the end...
There are moments that reveal a nation’s character more clearly than any policy platform or political speech. One such moment came in the summer of 1972, when Idi Amin decreed the expulsion of Uganda’s entire Asian population, and the fate of thousands of terrified families hung in the balance. Discussions between Aga Khan IV and Pierre Elliott Trudeau – two...
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he isn't worried Mexico will sign a trade agreement with the Americans that excludes Canada. LeBlanc says the Mexicans are also committed to a trilateral deal as the countries work to renew the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. Mexico and the U.S. have started formal talks ahead of a July deadline, and earlier this month...
The Hill Times spoke with political insiders over the last month to nail down the list of people who are leading and influencing federal government policy and shaping public opinion this year. Here is our Top 100 Most Influential People in Government and Politics in 2026, organized by politicians, pollsters, political influencers, staffers, public servants, and media.
There has been a lot of debate in recent weeks about the province’s decision to take over the City of Toronto’s role in the agreement governing Billy Bishop Airport and to acquire the city-owned lands at the airport. Some have asked why the province would take such a step. The answer is that Billy Bishop is a critical piece of...
I have an urgent request for Prime Minister Mark Carney: please come to Vaughan, Ont., to meet with our Jewish community. As Vaughan’s mayor, I want you to know that Jews here feel angry, scared, defiant, tired, shocked and beleaguered. Who can blame them? I’ve lived my entire life in this country, but I have never before witnessed the shocking...
The federal NDP convention in Edmonton in 2016 was the scene of two fascinating events: the unceremonious dumping of Tom Mulcair as party leader and a rhetorical clash between Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and the supporters of a broad statement of principles known as the Leap Manifesto. Notley, less than a year into leading the first NDP government in Alberta's...
With the easy part over, newly minted NDP Leader Avi Lewis knows his real challenge is just beginning. He inherits a divided party, a split Parliamentary caucus and provincial wings opposed to his agenda. The Alberta and Saskatchewan parties want nothing to do with him. Saskatchewan’s NDP Leader Carla Beck wrote to tell him Saturday that she won’t meet with...
Can Avi Lewis’ brand of left-wing populism win over Canadian voters? It’s what he and the NDP are hoping will happen, but as Lewis takes the reins of his party, he’s already causing division.
The conflict in the Persian Gulf and Iran’s missile and drone strikes on key oil and gas facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have caused fires, shutdowns, and extensive damage at major energy export hubs. Global oil and gas prices have surged. In addition to its impact on Canadian consumers, the crisis has driven up fuel and...
Imagine a Canada ruled by a “mini-Trump.” It’s not so implausible, lawyer Frédéric Bérard told the Supreme Court last week. Western nations are teeming with clones of the American president these days. If such an illiberal leader were to come here, Bérard argued, we would simply have to hope that our politicians do the right thing...
The president has dispatched thousands of troops to the Middle East where he is at war with Iran. There are wars of necessity, and wars of choice. Donald Trump has created a third category: wars of whimsy. When will Americans realize that three more years of Trump's chaos could end in unfixable catastrophe?
By now, it’s clear that no matter what kind of resolution U.S. President Donald Trump attempts to impose on his latest misadventure in Iran, this conflict and its global repercussions will be far from over. More likely, it will resemble George W. Bush’s infamous “mission accomplished” moment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003: a premature declaration of victory that...
The thing about Mark Carney’s government is that he’s not subtle about what he’s interested in – and what he’s not. When his cabinet was sworn in, the Prime Minister issued a single mandate letter for all his ministers containing just seven priorities wrapped relentlessly around economic development and sovereignty. And the way Mr. Carney has gone about tackling that...
While Liberal MP Michael Ma has belatedly apologized for questioning the veracity of expert testimony at a Commons committee hearing that China uses forced labour — claiming that was not his intent — cozying up to China has been mainstream Liberal thinking in a line stretching from Justin Trudeau to Mark Carney.
Standing in front of a massive pipe organ at Winnipeg’s Knox United Church on Thursday evening, NDP scion Avi Lewis was preaching to the converted. It was the eve of the party’s leadership convention, one that party members believe could seal the NDP’s fate. Will the next leader revive a nearly moribund federal party by inspiring new and past voters...
There is nothing really new about the New Democratic Party, founded as it was in 1961. Nor with six seats, is it an official party, according to the status rules of the House of Commons. It is however, still democratic and the leadership vote culminating this weekend will point the way to where the NDP — and the progressive left...
No one knows where Donald Trump got the notion of annexing Canada. It hasn’t been seriously suggested by any significant figure in American politics for at least a century. There has been next to no take-up of the proposal, even among his MAGA followers. But the underlying premises – the idea that America must have complete dominion over the Western...
Here is an evergreen news story if there ever was one: the Prime Minister’s official residence has problems. Yes, we are talking about that again – the PM’s digs. Except this time we aren’t talking about 24 Sussex. We’re talking about the cottage that the Prime Minister of Canada had to move into on the grounds of the Governor-General’s residence...
Sunday's coronation won't revive a dead federal party, but his extremist agenda will absolutely tank their provincial success stories. Pundits love to overcomplicate politics, but the math for this Sunday’s NDP leadership vote is painfully simple. For Avi Lewis to be denied a first-ballot victory, the other four candidates on the ballot need to somehow scrape together 50% plus one...
Impressive ambition. A needed boost for Canadian sovereignty. Some hope for industrial transition. But when you get down to the math, there is only half the equation. The figures are big. After touring a Royal Canadian Navy ship on Thursday, and boasting that Canada has finally met the NATO target for defence spending, Prime Minister Mark Carney made a point...
In a way, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer came full circle this week. In February 2013, as the term of the first parliamentary budget officer neared an end, the Official Opposition put a motion before the House of Commons calling for the independence of the office to be reinforced and for the term of Kevin Page to be...
The Supreme Court spent most of this week hearing oral arguments in what is widely known as the Bill 21 case, after the infamous Quebec law banning the wearing of religious symbols in much of the public sector – effectively a hiring bar on observant members of certain religious minorities. Only it isn’t really Bill 21 that is at issue...
I once predicted semi-seriously in a long-ago column that climate change and calm — or a combination of temperature and temperament — would make Canada a 21st-century superpower. Donald Trump may have achieved it in half the time. The term “New World Order” went viral not long after the dawn of 2026, when Prime Minister Mark Carney used it to...
MY EXCELLENT FRIEND and former colleague Steve Walt of the Harvard Kennedy School calls them the predatory hegemons. America, China, and Russia are prowling the world, turning a rule-ordered playing field into a jungle in which the rule of the strongest prevails. The middling powers Prime Minister Mark Carney talked about at Davos are scrambling to escape the jungle. Carney’s...
For years, the dismal state of 24 Sussex Drive has been a recurring punchline, a symbol of political paralysis, and a quiet national embarrassment. I spent years inside the machinery of government, close enough to watch good policy die, not from bad ideas, but from political timidness. The file on 24 Sussex is one I know well. It remains, after...
Those who aspire to lead democratic nations are tested from the moment they declare their candidacy. Does he speak well? Is she good on her feet? How will he handle the economy? Will she be trusted in a crisis? Each candidate is sliced and smeared and pressed onto a slide, so that the electorate can inspect every personal and professional...
The Carney government needs to get its story straight on foreign interference and transnational repression — especially as it relates to India. After this government insisted that the Indian government was cooperating with the Canadian investigation into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other crimes like extortion and arson, the Indian government said there was never anything to investigate...
OTTAWA -- The federal and Ontario governments said Monday they will together invest billions of dollars in local infrastructure spending to help cities cut costly development fees and get more homes built.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is proposing major changes to its law governing citizen-led petitions for the third time in less than a year. Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced Monday a bill that, if passed, would make it impossible to start a petition for a constitutional or policy referendum a year before or a year after a provincial election. Petitions...
EDMONTON -- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and members of her United Conservative government expressed their unwavering love for Canada today as the Opposition NDP accused them of harbouring a separatist.
An Ottawa craft brewer says rising alcohol taxes are among the factors that have pushed his business to the brink, as the federal government prepares to implement another automatic excise tax increase on April 1. Paul Meek, owner of Kichesippi Brewery, says this will be his final April 1 as a brewery owner as he moves to shut down operations...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Liberal MP Michael Ma has apologized for comments he made last week seemingly questioning the issue of forced labour in China, and would not say whether he will face consequences. “Mr. Ma has apologized for his comments, as he should have,” Carney told reporters during a housing announcement with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto...
New NDP Leader Avi Lewis says “hard conversations” will be necessary as he takes the helm of the party amid public backlash for his leadership from provincial NDP leaders. “I do believe that hard conversations are necessary. I’m a person who actually welcomes them,” Lewis said while speaking to reporters in Winnipeg on Monday. Lewis won the leadership on Sunday...
The federal government has set aside about $1.5 billion to maintain and service the Royal Canadian Air Force's new fleet of Husky aircraft. Canada is acquiring nine CC-330 Husky tanker and transport aircraft -- four brand-new, five used -- to replace the aging CC-150 Polaris. The Defence Investment Agency announced three new contracts to support the tankers' continuous operations --...
The federal government says it will be consulting for the next four weeks on a national strategy to tackle financial scams targeting Canadians and businesses. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is in Montreal today rolling out consultations for the national anti-fraud strategy first announced in the federal budget last fall. The federal government is looking for a strategy to avert fraud...
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter after nearly two decades with the airline, the company said on Monday, a week after he made headlines by issuing an English-only message of condolence following the crash of Flight 8646 in New York.
Former Ontario NDP deputy leader Doly Begum says she spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney before deciding to run for the federal Liberals, crediting him with an ability to unite people from across the political spectrum. Ms. Begum, who has previously criticized the federal government over its Middle East policy, was elected in the east Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest...
The American and Israeli war against Iran is 29 days old, and is costing America somewhere between a billion and 2 billion dollars a day. Far from getting a “rally around the flag” public opinion boost, Americans were skeptical from the start, and opinion has been hardening, especially against the idea of putting American troops on the ground. Even most...
Major Canadian banks and pension funds have provided tens of billions of dollars to American contractors for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, an investigation by the non-profit Stand.earth has found. The environmental advocacy group analyzed financial data from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the private financial data firm LSEG. It said it found that Canadian financial...
Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney ended his remarks by making a tongue-in-cheek comment to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was sitting at the head table with him. “I know there are some stoics in the room,” said Carney, glancing at Poilievre. “So, I will close by channeling Marcus Aurelius,” added the...
A major bill reforming immigration powers is now law in Canada, giving Ottawa powers to mass cancel groups of visas and setting time limits on asylum claims in the name of bringing immigration numbers under control. But the legislation, passed Thursday, has also raised concerns from a coalition of civil society groups, including Amnesty International, immigration lawyers and public sector...
The Liberal government has dismissed a Toronto man's proposal to keep politicians honest in an age of misinformation, saying there are already several ways to fight falsehoods. Federico Sanchez initiated an electronic petition to the House of Commons to propose legislation that would help correct the record when members of Parliament stray from the truth intentionally or simply because they...
NDP Leader Avi Lewis begins his term with the task of rebuilding the federal party in his unapologetically progressive vision, but there is already resistance from the leadership of the Alberta and Saskatchewan branches. Lewis won a first-ballot victory with a platform built on bold ideas that he says meet the issues Canada is facing head-on. He won with about...
Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz has asked the province's conflict of interest commissioner to investigate a former cabinet minister's handling of a permitting issue at a golf club. Lantz says in a statement a third-party investigation has found that Gilles Arsenault's granting of an amendment to a wetland alteration permit for the Summerside Golf Club when he was the...
Alberta's premier says she welcomes diverse opinions in her caucus after a legislature member of her United Conservative Party opined a referendum on separation is good for the province. Danielle Smith reiterated on her provincewide radio show Saturday her government supports a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada despite the views Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan expressed a day before...
A crowd of tearful supporters joined Avi Lewis as he took the stage as NDP leader for the first time to address the party faithful after a resounding electoral victory at the party’s convention on Sunday morning. “Canada, mark your calendar: the NDP comeback starts now,” Lewis said to raucous cheers. Lewis, 58, held hands in a chain that included...
Filmmaker Avi Lewis has been elected as the NDP's new leader, defeating his four rivals on the first ballot with nearly 40,000 votes, from almost 71,000 ballots cast. This victory signals a shift toward the party pushing big, unabashedly left-wing policies like government-owned and operated grocery stores as grassroots members pushed for change after a devastating election result last year...
Liberals lead everywhere except Saskatchewan and Alberta and the gap has closed there. A few weeks shy of the first anniversary of the election of a Mark Carney led government finds the country broadly endorsing his leadership. Our latest Spark Insights national survey (4000, online, field work between March 22-26, 2025) finds Liberal support at 46% compared to 30% for the Conservatives.
Amid the howling winds of the Sweet Grass Hills lies Border Road, a 14-kilometre ribbon of manicured gravel stretching between the United States and Canada. The shared road is on the Montana side, but Alberta maintains it. North of the road lives Ross Ford. On the south, it's Roger Horgus.
When he’s in the House of Commons during the daily 45-minute Question Period, Mark Carney seems to enjoy himself. While it’s never shown on TV cameras — House of Commons personnel and not broadcasters control the visuals — those in the galleries will often see Carney smiling and joking with members of the opposition, including Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. Judging...
The CEO of the Swedish manufacturing company Saab says there are still “intensive” talks underway with the Canadian government around the potential purchase of Gripen fighter jets, but that he has no timeline for when Canada will finish its review of the American-made F-35s. The federal government launched a review a year ago of its plan to purchase dozens of...
U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have driven up prices, darkened the outlook for the world economy, sent global stock markets reeling and forced developing countries to ration fuel and subsidize energy costs to protect their poorest. Ongoing strikes and counterstrikes on Persian Gulf refineries, pipelines, gas fields and tanker terminals threaten to the prolong the global economic pain for...
Reports of the NDP’s death have been greatly exaggerated. That’s according to current and former politicians and party supporters at the NDP’s three-day convention in Winnipeg, Man., ahead of the crowning of a new leader. They say their path forward with a new leader will include door-knocking, winning seats, bold platforms, and hard work as the Carney Liberals leave an...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Saturday that for her, “a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” means Alberta stays. Smith was reacting to UCP MLA Jason Stephan’s recent comments in an op-ed column in The Western Standard. In that piece, Stephan said he invited Albertans to sign the separation petition. “Signing the petition supports your right to vote and decide...
Add another star to the Junos guest list: Prime Minister Mark Carney. The prime minister will make his Junos debut at Hamilton's TD Coliseum on Sunday evening. Also due at the ceremony are Joni Mitchell, who will receive a lifetime achievement award, and Nelly Furtado, who is being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Sarah McLachlan and Allison...
Premier to meet with politicians, business leaders in Houston, Dallas, and Austin. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is taking a trip to Texas next week, and packing his pro-trade and anti-tariff messages with him. Ford will visit Houston, Dallas and the state capital of Austin during the multi-day trip, which was first reported by The Toronto Star. The premier plans to...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that it is important to closely monitor inflation amid a spike in energy prices from the Iran war.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 affair, wants to return to Congress -- again.
ROME, Ga. (AP) -- During almost three decades of living in Georgia's conservative northwest corner, Kimberly Seals got used to keeping her liberal opinions to herself. She suspected there were others who felt the same way, but she had no way to know for sure.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Crowds of people protested Saturday against the war in Iran and President Donald Trump's actions, in "No Kings" rallies across the U.S. and in Europe. Minnesota took center stage, in what organizers expected to be mass demonstrations involving millions of people.
U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have driven up prices, darkened the outlook for the world economy, sent global stock markets reeling and forced developing countries to ration fuel and subsidize energy costs to protect their poorest. Ongoing strikes and counterstrikes on Persian Gulf refineries, pipelines, gas fields and tanker terminals threaten to the prolong the global economic pain for...
Group of Seven foreign ministers met on Friday in France to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with deep divisions apparent over the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated complaints that America’s allies have ignored or rejected requests for help in the military operation and in confronting Iran’s retaliatory attacks, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz...
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is accusing U.S. President Donald Trump of fuelling the war in Iran to distract from the millions of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, also referred to as the “Epstein files,” saying the conflict is driving up gas prices for Canadians. In an interview with CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday, Kinew...
Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election for a Florida state House seat on Tuesday, flipping a district that is home to President Donald Trump's estate, Mar-a-Lago. The Republican president endorsed Gregory's rival, Jon Maples. In a social media post Monday, he urged voters to turn out, saying Maples was endorsed "by so many of my Palm Beach County friends."...
India would like to create a trusted traveller program with Ottawa that could ease access to Canada for Indian businesspeople similar to the NEXUS program for Canadians and Americans, New Delhi’s top envoy says. Dinesh Patnaik, India’s high commissioner to Canada, said such an arrangement could be part of the deepening ties between the two countries that follow from Prime...
Canada is facing a housing affordability crisis that is placing a growing burden on households, particularly lower-income households, for whom housing and energy are already the largest areas of spending. Although the residential sector has reduced its GHG emissions since 2005, decarbonization has not progressed at the pace required to meet Canada’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Despite improvements in...
Canada’s renewed embrace of industrial policy and megaprojects signals a decisive shift toward an activist ‘nation-of‑builders’ strategy. However, a real test of its success is whether it can support lasting, community‑led prosperity in regions that depend on natural resource extraction or energy generation.
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Canadian troops may be only days away from deploying to the Middle East to aid the U.S.’s and Israel’s war on Iran. The latest indication is a joint statement expressing concern about Iran’s restriction of oil tankers through the narrow Strait of Hormuz signed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO allies late in the week.
Canadians who have neglected to pay their taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have been coming forward in droves to take advantage of new amnesty rules.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s spurious excuses for gutting the province’s freedom-of-information (FOI) law are exactly why we need transparency legislation in the first place: governments are habitual liars. Last week, the Ford government said it plans to weaken its sunshine law by erecting brick walls around every minister’s office, including the premier’s. Freedom-of-information requests will no longer be accepted. The...
So much to catch up on today and once again Dr. Janice Stein of the Munk School at the University of Toronto is more than a match for the questions. Questions on the Iran War, Donald Trump and "how it's all about oil."
After leading the party to it's worst ever result, Jagmeet Singh resigned as NDP leader. Now, nearly one year after the election that reduced the party to just six seats, New Democrats have elected the leader who will have the daunting task of rebuilding and rebranding. Host Caryn Ceolin speaks with former Hamilton Centre NDP MP Matthew Green, who was...
Experts, market watchers and the authorities in Iran have accused the U.S. President of engaging in market manipulation surrounding the Iran war by timing military announcements around market opens and closes. On top of that, there have been questions of possible insider trading in connection to Trump’s moves. Last Monday, a spike of highly suspicious and extremely lucrative oil futures...
Avi Lewis secured the NDP leadership in Winnipeg today, getting 56% of the vote on the first ballot. In this quick-hit episode of The Numbers, we give our initial reactions to the results and chat about where the NDP under Lewis goes from here.
